Former WVU QB Nicco Marchiol Visiting with Big 10 Team

Transfer quarterback Nicco Marchiol is currently taking a visit to Evanston, Illinois, home of the Northwestern Wildcats. It seems like Marchiol could very well be close to choosing his place to play. Marchiol did repost the original report from College Transfer Portal X account, seemingly confirming that he is indeed visiting with the Wildcats.

NEW: West Virginia QB Nicco Marchiol is taking a visit to Northwestern until tomorrow @MarchiolNicco 🚨 pic.twitter.com/K6XTMOt4xk
— College Transfer Portal (@CollegeFBPortal) March 13, 2026

The redshirt junior was a four-star recruit coming out of high school, being recruited by former WVU head coach Neal Brown. Marchiol was highly touted due to his athletic ability. While it may not have worked out exactly as Marchiol was hoping it would have at WVU, he will be looked back on fondly by the program and its fans.

The quarterback will always have a soft spot in a lot of West Virginia fans' hearts after his performances in the 2023 and 2025 Backyard Brawls. After an injury to starting quarterback Garrett Greene, Marchiol stepped in and led the Mountaineers to a 17-6 win in 2023. Marchiol then put up one of the best performances of his career in the 2025 edition of the rivalry. Marchiol played a clean game, going 19-25 passing en route to a memorable 31-24 win in overtime.

Would Northwestern give Marchiol an opportunity to play?

The Wildcats offense will look a lot different in 2026 than it did last year. They have a new offensive coordinator in Chip Kelly. Kelly is a familiar name for football fans who won the National Championship as the offensive coordinator for the Ohio State Buckeyes in 2024. Kelly recently was fired from his offensive coordinator job with the Las Vegas Raiders after trying to make the jump back into the NFL. Former WVU quarterback Geno Smith and Kelly never seemed to get things going, as both are in new places just a year later.

Northwestern welcomed transfer quarterback Aidan Chiles just a few months ago, who will be the presumptive starter for Kelly’s offense. Chiles has had a very up-and-down career at Oregon State and Michigan State. Marchiol would certainly not get the nod over Chiles, but if he is unable to put it all together, we could very well see Marchiol get a shot in the Big 10. I would also be interested to see if Northwestern wants to implement a package of plays for Marchiol to show his athleticism and provide a spark to the offense.

While nothing is official yet, Marchiol is clearly garnering interest from at least one Power Four program. It should be interesting to see where the dynamic quarterback ends up and if he gets a shot to showcase his skills in his new home.